Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Sunday put emphasis on increasing mutual trade between Dhaka and Kathmandu as Nepalese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ghanshyam Bhandari paid a courtesy call on him at his Bangladesh Secretariat office.
Welcoming the ambassador to Bangladesh, the adviser said Nepal is one of the closest neighbours of Bangladesh and one of the first few countries to recognise it as an independent country in 1971.
During the meeting, various bilateral issues related to mutual interests between the two countries, including improving relations, enhancing trade, providing security to Nepali students, simplifying the visa processing, sharing information on flood forecasting and weather warning, dominated the discussion.
Besides, mutual information-exchange and strengthening of cooperation were also discussed to resolve the outstanding issues between the two countries in the meeting, reads a press release on Sunday evening.
Expressing solidarity with the Bangladesh Interim Government established as a result of an anti-discrimination student’s movement, the ambassador, on behalf of the Government of Nepal, assured of providing all kinds of cooperation in these changed circumstances.
“Despite the close contact between the people of Bangladesh and Nepal, the present trade volume is not in expected level till today,” the ambassador added.
Noting that about three thousand Nepali students are studying here, including medical colleges in Bangladesh, the ambassador sought the assistance of advisors on student safety and requested to ease the visa processing.
Giving a patient hearing to the ambassador’s remark, the home affairs adviser assured the envoy of providing full cooperation in this connection.
About the recent flood in Bangladesh, the ambassador expressed his sympathy to the flood-affected people.
He said, “The source of some rivers in Bangladesh and Nepal are almost similar so the two countries can cooperate with each other in flood forecasting and warning as well.”
Accordingly, Nepal is ready to cooperate with Bangladesh by providing necessary data in flood forecasting, the Nepalese ambassador added.
Second Secretary of Nepal Embassy in Dhaka Yojana Bamjan along with senior officials of the home ministry were present on the occasion.
